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| CURRENT ISSUE JUNE 11, 2007 |
| SOCIETY & THE ARTS: BOOKS |
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A Stick in Time | ||||||||||
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| By Sharda Ugra | ||||||||||
Even during the team’s slide, Pillay remained a talisman, prima donna and patriot, saviour and sinner, man of the match and villain of the piece. Misra takes the chronological route through his career to try to find a cohesion in the work and play of this most changeable of men. The book could have done with a vigilant editor to encourage the author’s broader brushstrokes. A long-time hockey reporter, Misra has insight into people and access to information. It is in here, rather than in the game-day narration, that the book, Pillay and Indian hockey acquire breath. The author tries to fathom Pillay behind the theatrics and provides an unsparing account of the envy he generated among his teammates because of his popularity. Little is left to allusion: the arrogance of coaches, the IHF’s utter lack of integrity or foresight. He writes, “(Indian hockey players) come up (sic) ... seeing politics in team selection. The moment they see a person with a spine, they tend to rally around him.” No wonder the IHF ensures no coach or player gets too popular. Is this all Byzantine, bizarre or just an airing of dirty linen? It doesn’t matter. After Forgive Me Amma, the mind-bender is working out how the Indian team actually manages to keep it all together and win sometimes.
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FORGIVE ME AMMA: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF DHANRAJ PILLAY | |
| CURRENT ISSUE JUNE 11, 2007 | |
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| COVER STORY | |
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| Grain Drain Farming Is Becoming Unviable THE GREAT DRY TECHNOLOGY FATIGUE |
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